War of words between UGC, IIPM hots up

New Delhi, Feb 16: The University Grants Commission (

) has again made it clear that the Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM) does not have the authority to grant a degree or diploma in

.

Through a public notice that was put out first in Jul 2012 and re-issued a few days ago, the UGC informed that "IIPM is not an university within the meaning of the UGC Act." Citing Section 22 of the Act, the commission stressed that "IIPM does not have the right of conferring or granting degrees as specified under the Act."

IIPM was not established under the Act and Parliament has not empowered the institute till date to award degrees to students, UGC noted. "IIPM is neither entitled to award MBA, BBA, BCA degree not is it recognised by UGC," the public notice stated.

However, a defiant IIPM head Arindam Chaudhuri asserted that the institute "imparts a quality of education that is at par with the best globally." Slamming both the commission and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), he alleged that "UGC and AICTE are organisations full of bribe-seeking corrupt people where even at the top they have a track record of being caught red handed and being jailed."

Arindam Chaudhuri accused the commission of acting at the behest of IIPM's competitors. According to him, the UGC "had been deliberately spreading misleading information about IIPM to hurt its business interests"

About the commission describing IIPM as a fake university, he said: "For the same, the Delhi High Court had reprimanded UGC and given it a clear direction to remove the allegation."

Arindam Chaudhuri averred that IIPM "neither gives any degree of its own, has never claimed to do the same, nor has it ever called itself a university." Pointing out that IIPM has already tried to create an awareness about the "defamatory intent of the UGC/AICTE campaign", he added that the institute "is proud to have no affiliation with them."

OneIndia News (with PTI inputs)